Poolside Percy

Brrrrr

Score: ۞۞ ۞ ۞۞ Sunday afternoon swim with my son and his mate. Big diving board broken, freezing cold and dirty changing rooms. This place needs some serious attention. Boys had fun off the springboard. Got told off for having a holding your breath under water contest. FFS. I swam enough lengths to call it a mile. Two quid for a hot chocolate. FFS. Photo is of the outdoor pool nicked from this website

Mond ay night immersion. I find the Willes pool a very secretive place. Firstly, you don't get to see or smell the pool until you have opened and entered through a huge wooden door. This means you never know how busy the place is. Secondly it's unerringly quiet. No sound or laughter or children playing. Odd. Thinks this place takes itself a bit too seriously. Anyway. Menacingly cold Monday night. I opened the aforesaid door to the Aqua City. Five lanes, five swimmers. It took a while to work out which one to join. Decisions, decisions. Never really felt comfortable in any of them this evening. I think I swam in all five lanes in the end. Water nearly took my breath away, well cold. Now what's the point in spending all that money and not heating up the water?

So yet again I didn't make it to the Outdoor Swimming Society's Christmas dip at the Lido. However, I did make it down to The Oasis on a freezing cold Sunday afternoon. I reckon the water wasn't that much warmer here than at the Lido. I take that back. When I arrived there were only two other people in the pool, I'll have the place to myself before too long I thought. No way, place was rammed by the time I'd finished my 58 lengths. Scurried off home via Christmas present shopping at Forbidden Planet. Bought a cool Fantastic Four travel card holder for my boy, not that he's in to super heroes.

On a very wintery Saturday evening I found myself in Regent Street heading towards the ballroom of swimming pools aka Marshall Street Baths. Swam my heart out this evening. Lungfuls of oxygen never tasted so good. Swam every one of those 58 lengths, apart from the last four drifting on my back. Took the tube home to Saturday night TV and tuna salad. The statue of the baby and dolphin sits at the shallow end. Nice touch.

I've gone back to my roots. I'm sticking with the familiar. Prince of Wales has become my pool of choice (although the water could be a bit warmer). Swam a very fast 49 lengths on a very chilly Monday night. Got home before it snowed. New Zoggs. Fantastic Left the old pair in the shower. They don't keep lost property at Kentish Town. Found a pair in the changing room. Made sense to take them home as they'd have only been thrown away. I've run out of photos, I'll see if I can find a few more. Borrowed this great retro shot from Getty Images - I preferred the Grafton Pool with higher ceiling. I can see this blog will become ever duller than than ever...

Sunday night shenanigans. Bashed out a very efficient 64 lengths before braving the Holloway chill. For some reason I always swim well here. Bumped in to Tyrone on the 271 bus on the way home. 85.5